Using antibodies to ward off coronaviruses

Betting vaccines won't be enough to stop a future pandemic caused by coronaviruses, Tillman Gerngross, the Dartmouth bioengineering professor behind the biotech Adimab, has launched a new company. Called Adagio Therapeutics, it's focused on antibodies to protect against the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as future coronaviruses that might leap from animals.

The startup has already engineered three antibodies that can neutralize a number of coronaviruses, STAT’s Damian Garde writes. The company has so far raised $50 million in venture capital to launch — and expects to file paperwork for clinical studies later this year.

“If you look at coronaviruses, they’ve spilled over into human populations three times over the last two decades,” Gerngross said, citing the outbreaks of SARS, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2. “How likely is it that there will be another coronavirus pandemic in the next 10 years? Twenty years? I don’t think it’s a question of if, but of when.”